Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-03-25

pink check and lifted her face He looked
down at her with his black-gray eyes, eyes so
like her own. and said
"Dcar girl, you do not know how much you
have been 60 me. / hated mankind when |
came here There was not living creature
| cared for, or who cared for me. You and
your father showed me there was still truth
and honest feeling in the world, bless your
sweet, sunny soul! When / 20 away, what.
ever trouble is still to come, | shall know /
have had some true friends, some hours that
were happy. You are the best, truest, bright
est creature | ever met. Would | wound
your tender soul by so much as a word, do
you tbinkl You are the only one-Shirley,
you are capable of great things. If / can
judge of anything, the time will come when
all the world will praise you. You will write
your poem and do your work-a work such
rs no woman ever did before. | know that
You will show all men the sweet, deep, mar
veous strength that lies in a woman's brain.
believe in that, and believe in you. Your
verses will not be feeble and muddy and mar
row-the kind most women write Yours
will be the grand, ringing lines of humanity
and free womanhood. Because l know this,
let me give you such hints as I may, child.
Will you do this and forgive meN
Her lips quivered, but she was always ready
to confess an error-the frank, true child.
She said:
"Nou are very, very good, Mr.. Morrison;
and was wrong and foolish. / will do my
best and never give you trouble again. For
give me, dear master"
81 will bring you womans poem and read
it to you tomorrow, Shirley" he said.
"Gather your little Carstones, and we shall
have picnic in the afternoon down under
the willows by the mill race will read you
Aurora Leigh. Good night, child"
He laid his hand caressingly upon her head
and slid it down softly over one of the fair
brads.. Did he press the long, fair braid to
his lips as he turned to goa Well, who knows,
Shirley did not know.
1t was their last quarrel
From that day new and tenderer tie
seemed to draw them together The picnics,
as the children called them, lasted all through
the bright summer days In the winter there
were picnics indoors. The teacher had
seemed soured and reserved when he came to
Lnwood He had a bitter, sarcastic tongue
when disturbed, which had drawn on him i'll
will at first But that had changed He had
become gentle and genial. He established a
literary society among the rustics, the first
one ever in the village. 1t was turning the
thoughts of the younger people in better
and higher direction.
He and Shirley read and studied history,
poetry and science. lie taught her Greek
and Latin, prose ard poetry. The girl, like
himself, had the rare faculty of grasping a
thought in a glance. a few words upon its
page would tell its whole story to her clear.
alert brain They were days of perfect hap
| piness and peace But the girls thoughts
.,,1n +1 .,
of Domremy, the saint and martyr. with the
iron helmet pressing upon her golden hair.
1t was like the motive in a work of music
She wrote little poems STILL but now the
master criticised them no more. Some had
been printed. They had been copied and re-
copied, and went floating through the news
papers like beautiful waits. Shirley was be-
ginning to be known already as poet Of no
common order.
SHIRLEY, you must write the best poem of
your life for us next month";" said the presi-
dent of the literary society at is our last
meeting of the year; you are appointed for
the poem for the public entertainment. Our
literary society has such name now that we
must do something uncommon"
yes said the executive committeeman.
spectators will come in from half the county
Linwood must keep up her reputation. Lin
wood forever
The evening came and Shirley read her
poem. She surpassed all former efforts. Be
side her, as she read, was vase of white
rosebuds, rare and costly of kind unknown
in Linwood 1t was the masters gift to his
best pupil.
Mrs Simpliins her fast friend, told the
story of her triumph to every stranger that
came to the village.
"'Twas night Linwoodll never forget, I
reckon The master, he'd trained Shirley,
and practiced her on her readn' till it was
that material YOU couldn't ha told she wasn't
talkin' it Off out of her own head She was
the beautifulest Creetur' you ever laid ewes on
She looked for all the world like an angel,
standin there dressed in snow white fusion
And her speech. Lands sake! 1t sounded
like the organ playin Gather at the River
when Sunday school lets out 1t was Just
that beautiful. When she got done, and
made her bow, there was a mint of dead
hush, like before the henedction in church
Then the people all fell TO as they couldn't
help themselves, and such n clappin and
cheerin' was never heerl in Linwood before
nor since. 'Peared as though they would
take the girl and carry her of on their
hands then and there. Shirley, she Just
blushed and looked that pretty till you felt
you'd like to bite her. She turned her ewes
this way aad that, as if she'd like to hide.
till her eye, lit on the master. He wa, sitting
on the stage, with the Pr"sl! t.ri9u minister
and the doctor He hadn't clruel h-r ut
all, but looked sober ana set ri Int still. But
when Shirley looked at him, with the crowd
a clappin and clap.u' he jest reached
across and shook her hand, quiet and gentle.
man like Ilp was n LITTLE I1la aud u.ri,,.